A newsperson shall lead them, end of the town cafe, the most powerful video you’ll see today, what’s the story here, and the Zumbro flood set to music.

1) AND A NEWSPERSON SHALL LEAD THEM

It took several weeks for someone at NPR (formerly National Public Radio) to fight back against the assertions arising from James O’Keefe’s finely-edited “sting” of an NPR executive which allegedly proved NPR’s liberal bias. Predictably, it was someone in a department known for strong spines — the newsroom. Morning Edition host Steve Inskeep went on the offensive in today’s Wall Street Journal…

I congratulate Mr. O’Keefe for upholding his values: faith in the power of video to mislead. As columnist Michael Gerson noted in the Washington Post, by selectively misquoting the executive’s words, rearranging events, and other devices, Mr. O’Keefe made him sound sympathetic to Islamic radicals and unfairly tarnished NPR with “an elaborate, alluring lie.”

At the same time, my NPR colleagues in the Arab world were reporting on the actual Muslim Brotherhood and many other players involved in the uprisings. My colleagues’ reporting technique demonstrates their values. Suppose you’re NPR’s Lourdes Garcia-Navarro, one of the first reporters into Libya after its rebellion began. You need to know if the rebels are advancing. The only way to find out is to drive toward the front lines until the artillery shells exploding around you make it clear that they’re not. Next, you figure out how to get back alive. Then you try to rest, because you’ll do it again tomorrow.

With those values in mind, let’s consider the fundamental question: the accusation of “liberal bias” at NPR, which drives many critics calling to eliminate its federal funding. It’s not my job as a reporter to address the funding question. But I can point out that the recent tempests over “perceived bias” have nothing to do with what NPR puts on the air.

Inskeep pushes an ideal that is what drives the extremists crazy: That maybe it’s possible to get people together in a room — or on the radio — and talk big, intelligent ideas without the shouting and drama that is a poor mask for a hollow thought.

Conservatives in our diverse audience let us know when they disagree with our coverage–as do liberals, who’ve sent notes for years to advise me that I am conservative. Most listeners understand that we’re all figuring out the world together, calmly and honestly, in an atmosphere of mutual respect.

Meanwhile, James O’Keefe sent an email to supporters asking for help paying off his credit card debt, accumulated from the cost of the anti-NPR setup. Vanity Fair thinks this might help: Advice on how to cut credit card debt… from NPR’s Talk of the Nation.

2) END OF THE TOWN CAFE

It would appear it’s time to bury the town cafe. It lived a good life. The latest casualty: Willy’s in Dilworth. A former owner tells the Fargo Forum it’s the fault of Californians who bought the joint.

“I feel bad I let them buy it from my dad,” said Hieb, who lost his job there a year ago. “They didn’t run it right.” At the time Orv Hieb sold the restaurant, the new owners – who couldn’t be reached for comment for this story – said no major changes where (sic) coming. Kevin Hieb said rising prices, menu changes and other factors combined to sink Willy’s.

Maybe. But maybe people favor the chain restaurants. Close your eyes, have someone drive you to any town, open them — good luck trying to figure out what unique area you’re in.

In Hudson, Dibbo’s Cafe served its last cup of Joe last Saturday. “It was just good home cooking,” a long-time customer told the Hudson Patch. “It was like a pre-Facebook community type of thing … you’d go there share info across the table, learn what was new or what was going on.”

Got a favorite cafe? Share. I need a good road trip in search of the best town cafe.

3) THE MOST POWERFUL VIDEO YOU’LL SEE TODAY

This ad is one of the winner’s in TED’s “ads worth spreading” competition. It comes from the Topsy Foundation, an organization in South Africa. It was actually released last summer.

Somewhat related: Organ transplant centers in the U.S. have been warned to test kidney donors for HIV a week before a transplant. It’s the result of an incident in which a donor contracted HIV after being tested 11 weeks before the operation.

More health: Yesterday, the White House sent around this video of the story of a Brooklyn Park family on the first anniversary of the health care legislation:

4) WHAT’S THE STORY HERE?

Midnight must have struck early on St. Patrick’s Day, turning the elegant carriage into whatever flotsam this little number is…

It showed up on St. Paul’s West Seventh Street last week and there it’s stayed, with its decaying duct tape lanterns bowing the to the winds of a March storm. But what’s the story here? The bike/carriage is locked to a lamp post. Why? Did the person driving it not remember where he — or maybe, she — put it it? Did the contraption pay the price for exceeding the gross weight limits?

We love puzzles like this and encourage your photos of the weird things of the street you spy. We’ll make more phone calls this week and find out the story. Details to follow.

5) THE ZUMBRO

The spring flooding should have a soundtrack. Here’s the first of what I hope will be several videos contributed by Minnesotans documenting the rising river — this one is from the Zumbro River near Pine Island, uploaded by Bill Shain.

This area was flooded last September and bears watching while the Red, the Cannon, the Minnesota and the Mississippi Rivers get all the attention.

Bonus: If you remove all the breathless ignorance from media coverage of the sleeping air traffic controller story, here’s the story that’s left.

Legislators are considering a proposal to do away with traditional teacher tenure. Instead, teachers would rely for job security on periodic evaluations, based on student test scores and other factors. Do students benefit from teacher tenure?

WHAT WE’RE DOING

Midmorning (9-11 a.m.) – First hour: Andy Carvin of NPR on how journalists use social media sites as reporting tools, and how have they shaped the revolutions in the Middle East.

Second hour: When science journalist Joshua Foer went to cover the U.S. Memory Championship, he thought he would be witnessing the “Super Bowl of savants.” What he found was that the competitors were normal people who had trained with ancient techniques that anyone could use. His new book details his own quest to become a memory champion.

Talk of the Nation (1-3 p.m.) – First hour: What should we do to live a long life? Debunking the myths of longevity.

Second hour: Imagining a future without nuclear power.

All Things Considered (3-6:30 p.m.) – Projects to build rural broadband infrastructure are in high gear. Stimulus funding has pumped $228 million into 18 projects, from Cook County in the northeast to Lac qui Parle County in the west. The projects seems innocuous, but many have been surrounded by controversy. MPR’s Jennifer Vogel will have the story.

Re-election for a Wisconsin Supreme Court justice would normally be a quiet affair. But not when labor unions and the Republican governor are locked in a political tug-of-war. NPR will have the story of union advocates trying to flip the ideological balance of the court before it might decide on challenges to Wisconsin’s new collective bargaining law.

About the blogger

Bob Collins has been with Minnesota Public Radio since 1992, emigrating to Minnesota from Massachusetts where he was VP of programming for Berkshire Broadcasting Co. He was an editor at the RKO Radio Network in New York, and WHDH Radio in Boston. He is the founder of the MPR News’ website. He is a private pilot and flies an airplane he built.

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(fka Corner Cupboard Deli and commonly know as “Beans” or just “the Deli”)

101 Oak Street East, Frederic, WI 54837-9574

(715) 327-5513 ‎

The waitresses wear shirts that say on the front: “What happens in Frederic…” and on the back: “goes around in 5 minutes!”

The weekday breakfast special of fried eggs, toast and hash browns is my favorite.

John O.

There are many, many great small cafes across the Upper Midwest, but my favorite is still the original Norske Nook in Osseo, WI, just off I-94. Great food, but the pies are worth the drive all by themselves.

Bring your own Lipitor.

derek

I second the original Norske Nook

Blue Water Cafe in Grand Marais

Bonnie’s on University and Vandalia in St. Paul

T&T Galley in South Saint Paul. Get the quarterdeck.

Tyler

“That maybe it’s possible to get people together in a room — or on the radio — and talk big, intelligent ideas without the shouting and drama that is a poor mask for a hollow thought.”

Careful Bob – you could turn someone into an elitist intellectual if they did that!

bsimon

“E.G. Austin at The Economist wonders why Pawlenty stressed the negative and didn’t talk up the positives of his state.”

I’ve been wondering why the former governor keeps mentioning, as a point of pride, that he was the first governor to shut down the government. Is this really a key qualifier – a high point on one’s resume – for promotion to higher office? “Elect me to run the government, so I can shut down the government!” Huh?

Lindsey

Bev’s Cafe in Red Wing has a white board where they write the daily specials and they have an old-style breakfast counter.

The Whistlestop Cafe in Frontenac is also a long time favorite. The kind of place that definitely does not have its own website, but it’s got throngs of regulars.

Jim

@Today’s Question

What are the “other factors”?

I don’t think teachers should have tenure. However, I do think that their evaluations should take into account student and parental feedback, as well as peer reviews including the principal. I’ve had teachers who received a lot of negative feedback from their peers for being too “tough”, but their students and those students’ parents backed them.

Bob Collins

//Whistlestop Cafe in Frontenac

That was my first meal stop the last time I drove MSP to Boston (by the back roads, stopping in small towns along the way) a few years ago. You’re right; that was a fine place.

OH, can I second Bev’s? I ate there on so many special days in High School and during college breaks! The best part (not even being sarcastic here) was waiting for the farmers to leave so you could get a seat.

Jim Shapiro

When I still lived in my beloved Minnesota/Wisc (before being exiled to the evil shores of southern California) my favorite greasy spoon was the River Oasis outside of Stillwater. Good food, good people, good prices.

kennedy

Re: Bonus – I read the linked article. The media missed the point, but it seems this article did as well. I realize pilots are perfectly capable of landing their planes. It seems to me the danger in this case was pilots being uninformed of other traffic. Flying at night would seem to make it more difficult for pilots to visually spot other traffic. None of the reports mentioned whether pilots were in radio communication with other aircraft nearby (I suspect they would be.)

It seems that an unresponsive ground control could indicate problems on the ground. Landing in an unkown environment seems a bit risky. Why not go to another airport? Were there fuel issues? Is it appropriate to give landing clearance from a remote location?

Bob Collins

//It seems to me the danger in this case was pilots being uninformed of other traffic. Flying at night would seem to make it more difficult for pilots to visually spot other traffic.

It’s true that one of the services supplied by air traffic control — the main task — is separation of aircraft but mostly that’s done by “center,” not by tower. The “center” controller — who doesn’t work at the airport — hands a flight off to the tower only when the plane is already established on final approach.

Airliners also have proximity warning systems to warn of other aircraft.

Clearly, it’s not an ideal situation here, however.

//None of the reports mentioned whether pilots were in radio communication with other aircraft nearby (I suspect they would be.)

I wouldn’t expect they would be. I presume they simply went back to their previous frequency and talked to the controller there. Or they considered the airport tower “closed,” in which case they could’ve — and might have — called the “nearest air traffic control facility,” which technically would have been in charge at that moment.

// It seems that an unresponsive ground control could indicate problems on the ground. Landing in an unkown environment seems a bit risky. Why not go to another airport? Were there fuel issues? Is it appropriate to give landing clearance from a remote location?

No, but it’s not a big deal. As I said somewhere, the big problem is once they were on the ground there was no ground controller, apparently.

I haven’t fully investigated this but I’m assuming it was the middle of the night.

To me, the big story is there’s only one controller in DC’s tower, which seems rather silly and dangerous to me.

andy

Here’s a third vote for Bev’s Cafe in Red Wing. As a youngster this is where I learned what “bellying up” meant. Mmmm, now I’m hungry for breakfast……

Noelle

My favorite cafe used to be the Ole Store in Northfield, MN. Wine bar/restaurant on one side, coffee shop on the other. They made the best, simple (and affordable) breakfasts I’ve ever had, and did very classy gourmet meals for lunch and dinner. It was less than a block from my house at school, and I spent many days there studying with a cafe cubano (espresso, steamed milk and cinnamon), and many nights there with friends sharing a bottle of wine.

Sadly, it closed and is now under new ownership as the “Ole Cafe” – doesn’t even hold a candle to the old place.